ETDs: Electronic Theses and Dissertations Building an Institutional Asset Gail McMillan Digital Library and Archives, University Libraries Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
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Transcript ETDs: Electronic Theses and Dissertations Building an Institutional Asset Gail McMillan Digital Library and Archives, University Libraries Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
ETDs:
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Building an Institutional Asset
Gail McMillan
Digital Library and Archives, University Libraries
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
What is an ETD?
QuickTime™ and a
Cinepak decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Contemporary Turkish Coffeehouse
Design Based on Historic Traditions
Timur Oral
MS, Interior Design, April 1997
College of Human Resources and Education, VT
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-2227102539751141/unrestricted/Ali_Pasa.QT
The Current Situation
Basic and substantial applied research in
U.S. takes place in universities
Primary sources for this research are theses
and dissertations
A portion of valuable data and material
published
Theses and dissertations relatively
inaccessible and underutilized
The Vision for ETDs
400,000 masters and PhD candidates
annually exposed to e-publishing in US
Faster and better information transfer
– Empower students to convey richer
message through use of multimedia
– Universities publish their scholarship
Improve graduate education through
more effectively sharing information
Vision for ETDs: Library Goals
Improve services and resources
Reduce work
Save space and money
Library Responsibilities
Hardware: server
– Maintenance and security
– Started small: NeXt 3.3 (HP; 1989-97)
– Grew: Sun dual-processor Enterprise 250 (Solaris
2.7; to date)
Software
– Submission scripts
– Email notifications: authors, advisors, UMI
– Logs, surveys
Search Engine
– Started small: freeWAIS
– Grew: InfoSeek’s ULTRASEEK
Financial Concerns
At VT: start-up costs = $0
– On-hand staff, equipment, software,
freeware
From zero base: estimate $65,000
• $24,000
STAFF (part time)
• $36,000
EQUIPMENT
• $15,000
SOFTWARE
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/data/setup.html
From Authoring to Public Access
through Library Services/Resources
1. Graduate student submits ETD
– Directly to library server/permanent archive
– Archiving fee replaces binding fee
2. Graduate School approves ETD
– Automatic email notifications: author,
faculty, UMI
3. ETD immediately accessible
– Per author/advisor’s notification
– Public has appropriate level of access
– ETD database, library’s catalog, OCLC
Status of ETDs at Virginia Tech
Partnership of the Library, Graduate
School, Faculty
Approved through university governance
(Mar.1996) for full implementation Jan.1997
Web submission
– Students: http://etd.vt.edu
– Programmers: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ETD-db/)
Workshops for students (and faculty)
Over 4,107 ETDs approved
One of 125 universities, 18 associations in
the NDLTD (Networked Digital Library of
Theses and Dissertations)
Benefits: Increased Access
Low margin, high use
– Incorporate ETDs with other digital library
activities
• Ejournals, online class materials, digital images,
etc.
• Additional equipment, staff may not be necessary
– http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/data/setup.html
– Use VT programs, scripts, etc.
• http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ETD-db/
Online vs. circulation of copies
Accesses to VT’s ETDs
Total requests
Daily requests
ETD requests
Abstract requests
Hosts served
1998
465,974
1,722
244,987
177,647
28,022
1999
1,190,113
3,016
671,981
217,796
35,593
2000
1,894,510
5,176
734,807
320,273
105,632
2001
5,303,094
17,380
2,236,982
420,718
331,240
VT theses approved 1990-1994, combined average circulation
per copy: 2.24/yr
VT dissertations approved 1990-1994, combined average
circulation per copy: 3.2/yr
Access to VT ETDs: USA 2001
.edu (USA)
59.0%
.org (non-profit)
0.5%
.mil (USA)
0.5%
.gov (USA)
0.6%
.com
26.1%
.net
13.5%
International Access to VT ETDs
United Kingdom
Germany
Canada
France
Italy
Japan
Spain
Australia
Turkey
Taiw an
Brazil
1999 2000 2001
Netherlands
Portugal
Thailand
Malaysia
Poland
Singapore
-
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
Why are ETDs so popular?
Accessible
Alternative means of conveying information
Attractive as well as informative
– colorful images
– movement and sound
– display for on-screen viewing
Expanded network of research colleagues
Surveys: authors, readers, alumni
4107 VT ETDs
What are Authors Making Available?
Mixed
2.9%
Withheld
17.3%
Restrictted
27.1%
Available
52.6%
Challenges to Creating and
Sustaining ETD Collections
Information
Access
Publishing
Copyright
Archiving
literacy
Accessibility and ETDs
Inaccessible ETDs
– Patents pending
– Future publication fears
Broken links
– Quality of work remains
• Similar to out-of-print articles
Media standards
Publishing and ETDs
Authors
– Retain some rights, e.g., link to curriculum vitae,
online course materials
Faculty:
prior publication?
– Protective of future academics
Surveys
of publishers
– No specific policies
– Consider individually
VT ETD Alumni
– No problems publishing
Copyright and ETDs
Author’s rights
– Reproduction, modification, distribution, public
performance, public display
• Retain rights
• Share non-exclusive rights
– Permit library to store and to provide access
– Publishers
Author’s obligations: fair use
– Balance factors or get permission
Notification: optional
Copyright 2002 by Gail McMillan ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Registration: optional
– Possibly receive greater compensation, with less
documentation if filing infringement law suit
Archiving and ETDs
Concerns: Access without paper
– Long term preservation
– Standard multimedia formats
– http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/archive.html
Addressed Concerns
– Frequent, regular back-ups available on, off-site
– PDF: an open source program
– Cooperatives
• OhioLink
• Why not: OCLC, NDLTD?
– Commercial options
• UMI: traditional microfilming
Lessons from ETDs
Implementation of new formats slower than
expected
– Text oriented
– Not planning for online readers
Requiring institutions slower than expected
If you build it, it will get used.
– access exceeded expectations
– disappointing number are inaccessible
Remarkable increase in exposure to graduate
student research
No longer experimental
– increase in number and diversity of NDLTD institutions
Available at Virginia Tech
Information
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses
Automated submission system ready for
customization
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ETD-db/
Student guidelines, training materials,
FAQ's, multimedia educational materials
http://etd.vt.edu
NDLTD: Network educational institutions
– Annual Conferences: Berlin 2003, U of Kentucky 2004
http://www.ndltd.org
ETDs:
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Building an Institutional Asset
Gail McMillan
Digital Library and Archives, University Libraries, Virginia Tech
[email protected]